What Are Little Girls Made Of? (episode)
The Enterprise finds archaeologist Dr. Roger Korby, who has been missing for five years, living underground on a deserted planet with a group of sophisticated androids. Summary The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) approaches planet Exo III to learn the fate of Dr. Roger Korby, whose last message was sent over five years earlier. Two previous expeditions have failed to uncover any trace of the Korby expedition. Despite the odds, Korby and at least part of his expedition have survived by taking refuge in underground ruins left by the former inhabitants. Korby requests that Kirk beam down alone, explaining that he has made discoveries that may require an extraordinary decision on Kirk's part. But when he learns Christine Chapel, his fiancée, is aboard, he extends the invitation to include her. Kirk, Chapel, and Mathews, a security man, explore the ancient ruins, searching for Korby. Shortly after they meet Dr. Brown, Dr. Korby's assistant, Matthews falls into a "bottomless" cavern, leaving Kirk and Chapel alone. Dr. Brown seems somewhat detached and aloof, barely reacting to Matthews' tragic fall. They also meet Andrea, a beautiful woman. Kirk meets Korby, who seems friendly enough. But he insists there be no communication with the ship. This is not acceptable to Kirk, especially since he has also lost contact with Rayburn, whom he left at the entrance to the complex. When Brown threatens Kirk, there is a brief stuggle during which Brown is shot -- and it is revealed that he is not human, but a complex android. Meanwhile, the android Ruk immobilizes Kirk and prevents his escape. Korby reveals that Andrea, too, is a machine. Ruk had been tending the machinery in the ruins for longer than even he could remember. With his help and with the records Korby found, they built Brown. Now, Korby reveals the rest of his plan: he uses the android duplicator to make a copy of Kirk. The duplicate Kirk visits the Enterprise to secure the command packet containing the ship's itinerary. Korby will select a colony where he can begin carefully manufacturing android replacements. He believes he can create a superior android civilization, and he plans to prove it. On the planet, Kirk discusses the Old Ones with Ruk. They built their machines too well, became fearful of them, and started shutting them off. Survival outweighed programming; the androids murdered their creators. Korby is forced to destroy Ruk, Andrea destroys the duplicate Kirk. Then Roger Korby is revealed to be an android. Critically injured, he built a perfect body and decanted himself into it. But was it really perfect? Would the real Roger Korby have pursued this course of action? This small segment of android civilization reveals the pitfalls of Korby's utopian vision. Soon enough, even he realizes this, and his last act is to destroy himself and Andrea, the last of the androids, leaving unanswered forever this question: When did Roger Korby really die? Quotes Kirk Android: "Mind your own business, Mr. Spock, I'm sick of your half-breed interference, do you hear?" Ruk: "THAT was the equation! Survival ... must ... outweigh ... programming!!" Background Information * Budd Albright had appeared previously in an uncredited part as the ill-fated Crewman Barnhart in "The Man Trap". * Brown and Andrea both use old-style phasers seen in the pilots and "The Man Trap". * In one of the funniest sequences in the blooper reel, the cast uses Korby's android machine as a dance platform. * Along with "Errand of Mercy" and "The Menagerie, Part II" this is one of only three episodes after the pilots in which DeForest Kelley does not appear. * Robert Justman personally assembled the episode previews for the series, some of which had specially-recorded narration by William Shatner, as this episode does. The previews have great value to 'Star Trek' scholars as they are the only filmed source remaining (other than the bloooper reels) for alternate takes, cut scenes and other lost details. * Justman also selected the stills used for the end credits, and his sense of humor was often apparent in them. The image of the grotesque Balok puppet was purposely put under Herb Solow's production credit during season two, for example. In the end credits for this episode, he pulls another silly joke: when Michael Strong's guest star credit appears alone on the screen, the still image is that of Ted Cassidy showing his strength by lifting William Shatner over his head! * Kirk's walk to the turbo lift from his quarters is lifted from "The Man Trap". He does not have in his hand the command packet he had retrieved from his safe a moment before. * A key point of "Saturday Night Live's" spoof of 'Star Trek' conventions, featuring William Shatner, was the question from a fan about the combination of Kirk's safe. The combination is different in this episode than in "This Side of Paradise", "The Tholian Web" and "Turnabout Intruder". * In the still photograph of Korby on Spock's station screen, he is wearing one of the turtleneck shirts from "Where No Man Has Gone Before". * Sherry Jackson walks into the same room twice when she reports to Korby after phasering the Kirk android. * While much of the score in this episode is stock music, small bits of new music were composed for it by Fred Steiner. The lovely Andrea's theme would be re-used to great effect in "This Side of Paradise", while the menacing Ruk music would signify danger in many future episodes. Links and References Main Cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Majel Barrett as Christine Chapel Guest Stars * Michael Strong as Roger Korby * Sherry Jackson as Andrea * Ted Cassidy as Ruk * Harry Basch as Brown * Vince Deadrick as Mathews * Budd Albright as Rayburn * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Paul Baxley as Kirk’s stunt double * Denver Mattson as Rayburn’s stunt double References Android; Earth Colony 2; Ferris; Geisha; Genghis Khan; Hitler, Adolf; Kirk, George Samuel; Maltuvis; Midos V; Orion; Starfleet Academy. Category:TOS episodesde:Der alte Traum